Friday, February 17, 2012

This is an image of a standard Seva Kendra.My wife Padma and I had to go to the Passport Office to get her Passport renewed. I was so totally taken aback at the experience.

For a start there was no need to get a form and sit and patiently fill it up, go for Passport photographs etc. All this was done On line , from the comfort of our home. A receipt acknowleding the same was also Printable and Printed.

Then the appointment - a fixed time appointment is given and we go across to any of the three Passport seva kendras - we opted for the one at Nelson Manickam Road , just behind Ampa Plaza. There are two more, one each at Tambaram and Saligramam.

What a sight welcomed us !!!! A superbly appointed , neat Office with Smiling Staff who went out of the way to find out what our problem/need was. I found out that they were all employees of TCS and that TCS has been given the Front Office Management. We were there on Wednesday 15th of February. We entered the process at 12.01 PM and went through 3 Stages. A , B and C. The latter two being manned by Government employees who were again helpful and courteous.

In the first section they checked the documents , took a passport sized snap , Finger prints and off we went to the next section. A notice board kept blinking our token number and the counter to which we had to go next.

Then to C and we were through with a small exit counter where they gave a form and asked for our feedback. It took a grand total of 35 Minutes.

Just about an Hour ago the passport came by speed post. we had applied for the Tatkal scheme, I am told re issue of Passports takes a week only in the normal course and Tatkal is 3 days.

A classic case of Privatizing the front end without loss of Control and Security. The most important factor being the Cost is still the same Rs 1000 for re issue and an additional for a Tatkal that we needlessly asked for.

Yes! When the government deals in toto, there will be total chaos. With TCS there, things are working fine right now. I'm an optimist. Let's wait and see what happens later on, TCS being there not withstanding. The last mile with the government "has to be there". No way out. Some smart Alec (read 'babu'), will find a way to put some hurdle somewhere, and TCS will walk out! Formula One 2011 in India is a classic example of how a perfect job can be if only you have the guts to 'order' the government to keep off. Sri Lankan Post franchise system is another good example of a well run government cum private enterprise. Ejji

Thechnology has advanced and its for us to encash it. Gone are the days when it used to take months for one file to move another table. I vividly recollect that it used to take several months for a passport to be issued.

Good one. Hope everyone experiences. Wish it could extend to other areasviz RTO office / Civil Supplies etc.Looking forward to hearing the service providers saying " What can we do for you -I am here to serve ". Hope everyone puts in his efforts and avoid criticizing.

It is an eye opener Mohan sir.We only complain 90% of the time but only 10% appreciate their experience and keep others well informed.I have seen the mess at Shastri Bhavan passport office and to get form, fill in without tout's help was difficult as otherwise one gets lost in the milling crowd.Employ capable private sector 'as a legal tout'with modern facilities and you end up smiling and you see no crowd.In such circumstances urgent and ordinary gets merged and no sweet money needed in the process.We can even 'starve' here even if lunch hour intervenes as 'corruption' is shown the backdoor.

Very plesant to here. But yes we are really capable and second to none. However at times, the attitude spoils it all. Hope this spirit continues and the people benefit. Let the passport office be a fore runner and let all government departments follow suit. Jai Hind

Thanks for sharing your experience - a good one considering we are always bombarded with bad news about India all the time. We are as individuals among the best in the world - no doubt. What would really benefit us is to consistently perform collectively well as a team to bring about Systemic Excellence. Lets make it happen... Go India ...

Hi Sir, I had heard of this from my colleague. Glad to know that it has survived a month. But as one of the others posted above, it needs to be sustained. As Vadivelu would have put it, 'Un Opening nalla dhaan paa irukku, aanaa finishing sari illaiye"...hope this performance continues & TCS is held on to...Thanks Hari

Hi Sir, I had heard of this from my colleague. Glad to know that it has survived a month. But as one of the others posted above, it needs to be sustained. As Vadivelu would have put it, 'Un Opening nalla dhaan paa irukku, aanaa finishing sari illaiye"...hope this performance continues & TCS is held on to...Thanks Hari

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Me...

I am an actor in Tamil Films and TV & a management Graduate from XLRI. I have acted in about a 100 Films and over 4000 TV episodes. I am also a Corporate Trainer and use movies as a tool to teach .This experiential type of learning with games,movies etc has worked well with people from all areas and levels of Management. As a Philatelist my interests are Stamps on Cinema and I have a huge collection of Stamps on this subject.I have also been instrumental in the Postal Authorities honouring several doyens of the film industry by bringing out Special Day Covers and in a few cases Postage Stamps as well.I regularly give lectures on Film related subjects and have spoken about Chennai in Cinema, Nagesh , Chandrababu, Kishore Kumar, M.R.Radha to name a few. I have written articles on Famous Film personalities in The Hindu, madras Musings, Satyam Cinema magazine etc.

About Me

I can boldly state that I am South India's only ENTERTRAINER. I use Cinema and my experience of nearly 20 Years in it to conduct Training programs and Lectures in English and TAMIL on Communication , Team Work , Leadership , Personal Growth , Planning etc. These are peppered with anecdotes and stories from the Film Industry. I use Hollywood , Bollywood and Kollywood films depending on the audience.

I also collect Postage Stamps on Cinema and my collection has been awarded a few medals at State and National level comptitions.

I give lectures on film related subjects - I have spoken to a wide variety of people from Judges of the High Court to Lovers of Cinema and Chennai City.

I am married to Padma - (since 1979) and we have two children. My son V.P.Raman is a practicing advocate and is married to Sowmyah , they are blessed with a son - my grandson - Rudra. My daughter Vidyullekha is a succesful actor in Tamil and Telugu films.

I was recently awarded "Distinguished Alumni Award" by my alma mater - XLRI , where I did my MBA - 1978 batch of PGDBM. I have also been awarded the Tamil Nadu State Govt Award for best character award.